Chapter 9

Amber headed over to Honey's office after she left Rowan's room.

***knock knock**

Amber raised her hand and lightly knocked on the closed door. She stood there and patiently waited for an answer from inside.

"Come in," a woman's voice said from inside the room. The redhead pulled open the door and stepped inside. "Hello, Miss Barker," Honey said. "How may I help you?" she asked.

"I was going to bring my brother some of his things over tonight, but I'm not sure about the rules," Amber said. Honey reached down and opened a drawer.

"Here is a list," she said, handing it to Amber.

Amber graciously accepted it and folded the paper up. "Thanks," she said. "Oh, by the way, I asked him over on Friday to visit us," Amber said.

"That's a good idea," Honey said. "A change of scenery now and then works wonders," she said.

"Thanks for helping my brother," Amber said. "He deserves a better life than what he had back at home," she said.

"My son will take good care of him," Honey said. "He's taken a liking to your brother," she said. Amber thanked Honey one last time before she headed back to their home.

Amber walked into the house ten minutes later. Damon was in the living room, reading a book.

"Welcome back," he said. "How did it go?" he asked.

"Good," Amber said. "His physical therapist was there when I arrived," she said.

"Oh, were they busy?" Damon asked.

"No," Amber said, shaking her head. "They had just finished the workout," she said. "I am going to pack up a few things for Rowan and take them over after dinner," she added.

"I'd like to come with you tonight," Damon said.

Amber grabbed a black duffle bag and headed to the room chosen for Rowan. She folded three outfits for cold weather and two outfits for warmer weather.

"Damon, do we still have that photo with us at the beach?" Amber stuck out her head and asked.

"Yeah, let me find it," he said, getting up from the couch and heading to a closet in the hallway. He opened the closet door and reached inside. He pulled out a box labeled "Family Pictures" and opened it. He grabbed a small handful and sat down on the couch. The photo wasn't in the first bunch, so he set the pile aside and grabbed some more.

"Ah, I found it," Damon said after going through two more piles.

Rowan took a bath and then laid down to rest before dinner. He was sleeping soundly until the dream started.

"This can't be happening again," Rowan mumbled in his sleep. Drago suddenly appeared in front of him. Rowan tried to flee, but every time he turned around, Drago stood in front of him. He opened his mouth to yell for help, but nothing happened. No words came out. Suddenly, Drago disappeared, and then hands grabbed Rowan from behind.

"You betrayed me; now you must be punished," Rowan heard Drago say. Just when the steel knife scraped the skin of his neck, Rowan bolted upright in his bed, gasping for air.

Rowan's vision blurred, and his chest tightened. He heard the door open and the sound of Ray's concerned voice.

"Rowan, you've got to breathe," Ray said, sitting down beside him. After several seconds, Rowan's breathing normalized.

"He's coming to kill me," Rowan said, sobbing.

"Who?" Ray asked.

"Drago," Rowan said. "I betrayed him; now he's coming to get revenge," he said.

Ray pulled Rowan into his arms and rubbed his back. "Rowan, it was only a dream," Ray said.

"It felt so real," Rowan said. "I can still feel the blade of the knife on my skin," he said.

"Look at me, Rowan," Ray said. Rowan turned around and faced Ray. "It was only a dream, and a dream can't hurt you," he said.

"I hate this feeling," Rowan said. "I'm scared all the time," he said.

"Ro, we all care about you," Ray said. "If he did find a way to locate you, we'd protect you," he said.

Ray rose from the bed and faced Rowan. "Let's forget about the bad stuff and get something to eat," Ray said.

"Okay," Rowan said.

"Tomorrow, we can use the pool," Ray said as they headed to the dining hall.

"Um, can we do something else?" Rowan asked.

"Something's wrong," Ray stated. "What is it?" he asked.

"You might think it's stupid," Rowan said as they grabbed their food.

They found a table and sat down. "Ray, I can't swim," Rowan said, taking a deep breath.

"What do you mean?" Ray asked.

"What I'm saying is that I don't know how," Rowan admitted.

"You never learned?" Ray asked.

"No," Rowan said, shaking his head. "After our parents died, there wasn't time to learn," he said. "We had to grow up and stop being kids," Rowan explained.

"Do you want to learn?" Ray asked.

Rowan lowered his head in shame. "I'd like to, but what about my legs?" Rowan asked. "Don't I need to get stronger first?" he asked.

"You can do both," Ray said. "Swimming is a form of physical therapy," he said.

"I'm not sure about this," Rowan said.

"We can go slow if you're scared," Ray said.

"Thanks," Rowan said.

Rowan looked up and over when he heard the doors to the dining hall open.

"Big bro, sis," Rowan said, cheerfully.

"Hi there," Rowan's siblings said. "Are we interrupting?" Damon asked.

"No, come and join us," Ray said. Amber and Damon pulled out a chair and sat down at the table.

"We've brought the stuff you'll be needing," Amber said.

"Did you bring my swimming suit?" Rowan asked.

"Yes," Amber said, nodding her head.

"Is there something going on that we don't know about?" Damon asked.

"Um, I told Ray that I can't swim, and he said that he'd teach me at the same time; we'd do therapy," Rowan said.

Both of Rowan's siblings stared at them in shock. "Is that possible?" Amber asked.

"Yes, anything is possible if you believe in it," Rowan said.

"When do lessons start?" Damon asked.

"Tomorrow after breakfast," Ray said. "If you two want, you can come and watch," he said.

"They can?" Rowan asked, glancing over in surprise.

"Family members also benefit from being present for the therapy sessions," Ray said.

"Thanks for letting us join," Amber said.

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